The air was thick with an unnatural heat, like a furnace held just beneath the surface of the earth. Rikkia's skin prickled, her heart hammering in her chest as she stood at the edge of the village square, staring out at the approaching storm. The tremors underfoot had not ceased, and now, with the unmistakable shape of the Dark Ones emerging from the trees, she could feel the ground itself recoiling in fear.
The sky churned, a roiling mass of black clouds that seemed to pulse and writhe with every passing moment. The wind, no longer just an unsettling breeze, howled like the call of a beast hunting its prey. The trees swayed and creaked, as though trying to break free from the hold of something far older and darker than the natural world could bear.
Rikkia's eyes scanned the gathering darkness, but there was no mistaking what she saw now. The figures were tall, cloaked in swirling shadows that seemed to distort the air around them. Their faces, if they had them at all, were hidden beneath hoods or masks, their forms indistinct but massive. The force of their presence rippled through the atmosphere, and Rikkia could feel her breath catch in her throat. These were no mere myths or tales told to frighten children.
These were the Dark Ones. The very creatures her mother had warned her about, the ones who had haunted their people's stories for generations, and yet had not been seen in living memory.
Her mother's grip tightened on her arm as she pulled her back toward the shelter of the stone walls of the square. "Stay close," she urged, her voice sharp with an edge of fear Rikkia had never heard from her before. "Do not let them see you. Do not let them know you are here."
Rikkia nodded, her heart still racing, but her mind was far from calm. She glanced back toward the forest's edge, her eyes searching through the gathering gloom for any sign of Taldor. If he was out there, alone, facing this nightmare… she couldn't bear to think of it.
The ground rumbled again, and this time it was stronger, more insistent. From the trees emerged a sound that cut through the wind—the thundering march of countless feet, the drumming of an army on the move. Rikkia could feel the weight of it in her bones.
"They're coming," her mother whispered, her voice grim. "And they will not stop until they have what they want."
"What do they want?" Rikkia asked, her voice hoarse, her throat dry with fear.
Her mother's face was drawn, the weight of knowledge heavy in her eyes. "Power. Darkness. Whatever it is, it is tied to the forest—and to you, Rikkia."
Rikkia's breath caught. "Me?" she repeated, not understanding.
Her mother nodded slowly. "You're part of this. I don't know how, not yet, but you've been marked. And that's why you must stay hidden."
Rikkia could feel the blood drain from her face. The forest had always felt… alive to her, in ways she couldn't explain. Her connection to it had always been more than just a place she had grown up in—it was a part of her, as much as her own heartbeat. But to think that the Dark Ones might be after her, that her very existence could be tied to the evil rising from the depths of the woods, made her stomach churn.
A low growl rose from the shadows of the trees, followed by a deep, resonant voice that boomed across the village, cutting through the night like a blade.
"Farthing Meadows. The time has come to surrender. Submit yourselves to the will of the Dark Ones, and your lives will be spared. Resist… and you will be destroyed."
The voice seemed to echo from all directions, reverberating in the very air. Rikkia shuddered, her body frozen with dread. She had heard tales of the Dark Ones' voices—how they could reach into your mind, twisting your thoughts, breaking your spirit with their mere words.
Her mother's hand tightened around her arm. "Do not listen. They are trying to break us. Stay strong."
Rikkia nodded, though her mind was racing. The Dark Ones knew they were here. And though she knew the villagers had no power to fight this evil, she could not shake the growing fear that they were running out of time.
Suddenly, a movement caught her eye—something large, unmistakable, and unmistakably familiar. Through the swirling storm and shadow, she saw him.
Taldor.
His massive form loomed against the forest's edge, standing tall and unbowed. He was covered in the armor of his people, the ancient metal gleaming even in the dim light of the storm, and though he looked out of place amongst the dark shapes of the Dark Ones, he stood firm, his broad shoulders squared, his eyes filled with the kind of resolve only a creature who had lived through countless battles could possess.
For a moment, Rikkia's heart leapt in relief—until she saw the others who stood with him.
A small group of beings, equally as strange as the Dark Ones themselves, stepped forward from the shadows. They were creatures of stone and shadow, their faces indistinct, their forms shifting in and out of focus as if they were half-formed from the earth itself. Their eyes glowed faintly, the same unnatural hue as the sky above.
"Taldor!" Rikkia shouted, her voice breaking through the storm. "What are you doing? Get back!"
But her words were lost in the wind.
Taldor's voice rang out, deep and commanding, though it was tinged with an unmistakable sadness. "Rikkia, it is not you they seek. It is the forest, the heart of the ancient power that resides here. The Dark Ones are only the beginning."
"What do you mean?" she cried, her heart sinking.
He hesitated, his gaze sweeping the village, before he turned his attention back to the Dark Ones. "They are not alone. They have awakened something far older, something far worse than they are. And unless we stop them now… everything will fall."
Rikkia's mind raced. "But how? How can we stop them?"
Taldor's eyes met hers, and for the briefest moment, she saw the weight of a thousand lifetimes in his gaze. "There is no easy answer. But I cannot do this alone. The Dark Ones are powerful, but so is the forest. And so are you, Rikkia."
Before she could respond, the first wave of Dark Ones surged forward, their shadowy forms moving with unnatural speed. The ground beneath them cracked and shifted, like the very earth was bowing to their will.
Her mother's hand tightened on her arm, pulling her back toward the relative safety of the square. "We must leave, now. We cannot stay here. The village is no longer safe."
Rikkia's heart ached. She wanted to stay, to help, to fight. But she knew her mother was right. There was no fighting this—at least, not yet.
As they retreated toward the rear of the village, Rikkia glanced back at Taldor, still standing against the tide of darkness. And in that moment, she realized what he had been trying to tell her. The forest was not just a place—it was alive, and it was tied to them all. The Dark Ones weren't just attacking the village. They were after something far older, something that Rikkia herself could not yet fully understand.
But she would. And soon.
The battle for Farthing Meadows was just beginning.
Chapter End.